Source: Bobby Bank / Getty
The owners of the famous Philadelphia Cheesesteak restaurant Tony Luke’s were sentenced to prison on Thursday.
The US Department of Justice announced the owners, 57-year-old Nicholas Lucidonio, and 84-year-old Anthony Lucidonio Sr. were both found guilty of tax fraud.
The Lucidonios owned and operated the a popular cheesesteak and sandwich shop that started in South Philadelphia, and worked it way up the ranks to become a popular food chain.
According to sources, court documents show that the two men hid over $8 million in cash receipts from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from 2006 to 2016. The Lucidonios only deposited a portion of the cash they received into restaurant business accounts and concealed the remaining profits.
The U.S. Department of Justice stated by only depositing a portion of the cash, the company’s accountant was provided incomplete information, resulting in the accountant filing false tax returns. Sources also state that the Lucidonios were also convicted of employment tax fraud, which was committed when employees were paid “off the books” in cash.
The Lucidonios failed to report their cash earnings to their accountant, the DOJ said, causing the accountant to prepare false quarterly employment tax returns with the IRS.
Source: Bobby Bank / Getty
After a 2015 dispute over franchising rights ensured. the worried duo decided to amended the prior year’s tax returns to show higher reported sales, but continued hiding their payroll tax scheme, which resulted in a loss of $1,321,042 to the US..
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